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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · land · stick · track · prune · bulb · deal · rest

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. land — to come down
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. track — a path
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. track — a song
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rest — a break
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rest — what's left
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. clip — a video
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com